What to expect at this year's Halloween Horror Nights

New houses, new street experience at Universal Orlando's HHN

UPDATED 1:38 PM EDT Sep 21, 2012

ORLANDO, Fla. -

If you go to this year's Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando, don't expect what you've seen in the past.

"I think the content stands out far and above what we've done before, with the seven mazes, and a new Bill & Ted with a brand new writer and director, 20 Penny Circus and the newly re-envisioned street experience. Guests are going to come to this event expecting what we've done in the past, and I think it will exceed all their expectations," said Patrick Braillard, show director for the haunted houses.

The event features seven haunted houses, including AMC's "The Walking Dead" and Penn & Teller New(kd) Las Vegas. Guests will step into the park and be immersed in a completely revamped street experience where "no place is safe."

We've put together a complete rundown of the houses, the street experience and the shows.

The Haunted Houses

Alice Cooper – Welcome to My Nightmare

This house is inspired by the legendary rocker's first solo album and will put guests in the haunted dreams of the album's character Steven.

"As you go through that song, there are several scenes that we create. I think the fan base is really going to respond to this," said Jim Timon, senior vice president of entertainment at Universal Orlando Resort.

Inside the house, you'll come face to face with a "myriad of tormentors."

Penn & Teller New(kd) Las Vegas

How do Penn & Teller fit into Halloween Horror Nights?

Braillard said the idea of a Penn and Teller house came up over lunch when the magic duo was visiting.

"Over the course of lunch we started talking about Horror Nights. Teller is an enormous Halloween fan," said Braillard. "We started forming the idea, and they came back for a couple of trips to have creative sessions with us and then, boom, it was born."

The house takes you to New Las Vegas after Penn & Teller accidentally nuked the old one.

Inside the house, you'll see slot machines, showgirls, a wedding chapel and more -- all glowing with radioactivity. You even get the chance to scare other guests.

A preview video hints that you might run into the real Penn & Teller inside the house.

Tour the Silent Hill maze at Halloween Horror Nights

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Universal Orlando

Take a look around the new Welcome to Silent Hill haunted maze at Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights. (Click here for a video tour)

Silent Hill

The Silent Hill video game takes place in an ash-covered town where reality gives way to other dimensions.

You'll enter the house through the ash-covered outdoors, where you're greeted by trees, a chain-link fence and a Welcome to Silent Hill sign. Then enter the hospital-themed house, where bloody sheets hang from the ceiling.

Guests will be tormented by creatures including the iconic deformed nurses and executioner.

Walking Dead

Try to survive as you fight off zombies, or "walkers" as they're referred to in the AMC show "The Walking Dead."

"The Walking Dead" tells the story of the months and years after a zombie apocalypse, and the house aims to put guests in a real-life version of the show.

Universal Studios says the house features movie-quality sets that bring scenes to life.

"To take not only the street, but also the house, and turn it into one large AMC Walking Dead experience. That's like a dream come true," said Braillard.

The Horror Nights creators say guest should try to watch the show before they come.

"Any time you know a little bit about what you're going to be scared by, it makes the experience that much better," said TJ Mannarino, director of art and design for the costumes and house decor.

Braillard said there aren't any Season 3 spoilers in the house, but there are some "fun nods" to what's coming.

House of Horrors

This house features Universal's classic monsters you've seen in the movies.

"Our classic monsters have been recreated and done in a different way," said Timon.

Timon said the designers developed a new "lightning flash" technology to bring characters to life.

Dead End

Step inside this haunted mansion in Carey, Ohio, where "countless horrific acts have occurred." This appears to be the most "traditional" haunted house in the lineup.

Gothic

The Catedral de Caementum Animus is undergoing refurbishment by day, but by night, the stone gargoyles come to life to protect the cathedral from intruders.

The Legions Of Horror

Beware of every walkway, every restaurant, and every crevice at Halloween Horror Nights 2012 at Universal Studios.

This year, no place is safe.

If you've been to HHN before, you probably remember the themed scare zones.

Certain sections of the park featured costumed characters, known as scareactors, who would scare park-goers as they walked through that section.

Staying away from the scare zones gave park-goers temporary reprieve from the scareactors, but that's not the case anymore.

"There (are) no more scare zones," said Laura Wallace, the show director from the street experience. "We’re saying all of Universal Studios is a scare zone. That's very different from anything we've ever done before."

Wallace says five legions of scareactors will be roaming the whole park.

"I think we might catch a lot of people off guard," said Wallace.

Photos: Halloween Horror Nights Legions of Horror

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Universal Studios

See the five Legions of Horror you'll see roaming the park at Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights